Quebec doctors overwhelmingly favour legalizing euthanasia

Quebec’s specialist doctors are overwhelmingly in favour of legalizing euthanasia, according to a survey conducted by their professional association. The poll by the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec found 75 per cent of doctors think the government should establish a legal framework that would allow them to help near-death patients accelerate their demise. The doctors are also urging the FMSQ to take a public stand on the matter. Nonetheless, 20 per cent of those polled say that even if euthanasia were legalized, they would refuse to perform it.

Comments

Strange… if 75% support legalising euthanasia, and 20% would never perform it, and assuming no overlap – really hard to be in both groups – that leaves 5% who oppose legalising euthanasia and yet would perform it if given the option. That’s quite a conflicted position.

In any poll there is a percentage of people who either refuse to answer or say they don’t know. That’s so basic knowledge that many news stories don’t bother mentioning it. Perhaps they’re wrong; your comment proves that there are still people out there who don’t know much about how polls work.
Oh, and presumably one can be in favour of legalizing euthanasia even though one would never perform it, the same way many doctors prefer abortion to be legal even though they would not perform it themselves. Or like those women who say that while they would never have an abortion, they don’t want it to be illegal. That kind of conflicted attitude, too, is quite common. Most people are in the mushy middle, and we call it mushy middle for a reason.

Unfortunately, that little thingy called the Hippocratic Oath hasn’t been taken in most medical schools for 30-40 years. It wasn’t at my medical graduation. It’s been gutted and replaced with other wishy-washy statements of professional conduct.
Bernard Nathanson has a good chapter about it in his autobiography, “The Hand of God”, chapter 4, I believe.
Many doctors, however, have committed to a restatement of the Hippocratic Oath, found here: http://www.hippocraticregistry.com/